Trust Me
by Lazerkat
Summary: "Toms . . . are bad. They may seem nice on the outside, but on the inside, they don't care. They will make promises to you, they will tell you that they love you, but it's all lies. I know that from experience. You were named so that you would always remember to shield your heart. Shield your heart from love, Frostkit. You can't trust toms."
1. Prolouge

"One healthy she-kit," Mudpool announced gruffly, placing the fiery-pelted kit at her mother's belly. He glanced at the tired queen worriedly. She han't even yowled out during the birth. Just . . . lay there, with that blank stare. He knew that the loss of her mate had hit her hard, but surely she would have reacted to

 _kitting,_

for StarClan's sake! The medicine cat shook his head and sighed. He bent down to nose the small kit gently. Hopefully the new queen would make a good mother. She had to be, for the sake of the kit.

 _I'll watch over you,_ he silently promised the unnamed kit. _You can trust me._

oOo

Snowfeather snapped to attention, tearing her gaze from the nursery wall. She was faintly surprised to feel a small warm body at her belly. The white she-cat had to stretch her neck to see the tiny kitten who was now sucking her milk. The she-kit's pelt was pure orange, with no other coloured markings. _Just like him,_ she thought affectionately, just before she caught herself. Snowfeather shook her head vigourously. She was _done_ with that traitor! But now the kit would serve as a visual reminder of him every time she looked at it.

"What's her name?" a cat asked curiously. Snowfeather glared at the small kitten who was peering over the edge of her nest.

"Go away, Smokekit," she growled, curling tighter around her daughter.

"But I wanna know," the tom-kit persisted, undettered by the queen's harsh tone.

Snowfeather paused, blinking slowly. What _would_ she name the little kit? She thought for a moment, but no names came to mind. Other than _his_ , but he didn't deserve a kit named after him. He tore her heart into tiny, little pieces, and it was too late to mend it. Her kit couldn't, _wouldn't_ , share the same fate as her mother. Her heart must be frozen, like ice. Then no tom would ever be able to melt it. An idea finally popped into Snowfeather's head. Turning to the annoying gray kit, who was still waiting eagerly for her answer, her mouth twisted into a triumphant smirk.

"Her name is Frostkit."


	2. Chapter one

**Okay, I know I said I'd wait to upload this. Anyway, I have this story, and one other one called Sink or Swim. I'll put up chapter one of both, and let you guys decide which you want first. I'll get around to both eventually, but I want a side story to work on while I finish up Silver Fire. So, romance or mystery? That is the question.**

Frostkit opened her eyes, dazzled by all of the light and colours in the world. Then she abrupty closed them again. The she-kit heard her mother start to purr, something Frostkit hadn't heard her do before.

"Your eyes are the same colour as mine!" she commented proudly. Frostkit wondered what colour that was. _I guess the only way to find out is to open my eyes again . . ._ The she-kit braced herself for the light first, digging her tiny claws into the moss of her nest. Slowly, she opened her eyes. After a few seconds, her eyes adjusted and she released her grip on the nest. The first thing Frostkit did was survey the she-cat in front of her. Her mother had sleek, pure white fur, and was quite slender for a she-cat who had just given birth a few days ago. Her eyes were a deep green, and they sparkled with joy as they stared right back into Frostkit's own eyes. All in all, the she-kit's mother was quite pretty.

"Mama?" she managed to squeak nervously.

"Yes," Snowfeather breathed as she curled her tail around her daughter. "It's me."

Frostkit purred happily and snuggled into her mother's soft fur. _My mother is amazing!_ she thought. The two she-cats stayed in this position for awhile, enjoying their first proper moments together. That was, until another cat piped up.

"Hey look at that. The unwanted kit," they sneered. Frostkit slowly turned to face the new cat. She was surprised to see a blue-grey kitten not much bigger than herself standing at the edge of her nest. Behind him, another tom-kit stood, although he didn't look hostile. He was plain grey in colour, with a white patch on his right side. Both toms had ice-blue eyes.

"Who are they?" Frostkit whispered to Snowfeather. She twisted her head to look up at her mother. The queen was busy glaring coldly at the two toms, her expression sending shivers down the she-kit's spine, and Frostkit was just about to ask again when she answered.

"Toms," was all she spat. Frostkit glanced worriedly at the two kits, wondering what was so bad about them. The gray one seemed friendly enough, at least.

"Rainkit! Smokekit! Come back here, and stop bothering Snowfeather!" a she-cat called irritably. Frostkit peered around the two toms to see a pale queen curled up in another nest. _She must be their mother_ , she concluded. Another kit, this one a black she-kit, was sprawled out on the queen's head, so Frostkit couldn't see her eyes.

"Come on, Smokekit," the blue-gray tom ordered. _He must be Rainkit._ "Let's let the stupid she-kit's _mother_ explain what she is. I'm bored." With that, he spun on his paws, and trotted away, tail in the air. The gray tom hestitated, shooting Frostkit once last glance before scampering after him.

"I think she's pretty," the gray tom confessed not-so-quietly to his companion. He looked over his shoulder anxiously to see if she'd heard. Frostkit found herself smiling. She liked the gray one. He was amusing. When Frostkit said so to her mother, the comment was met only with disappointment.

"Frostkit," she sighed, lying down in her nest, "I think you need to know something." The orange she-kit perked up her ears, curious. "Toms . . . are bad. They may seem nice on the outside, but on the inside," Snowfeather placed a paw in Frostkit's heart, "they don't care. They will make promises to you, they will tell you that they love you, but it's all lies. I know that from experience." Frostkit wondered what had happened to her mother. What had a tom done? "You were named so that you would always remember to shield your heart. Shield your heart from love, Frostkit," she urged. "You can't trust toms."

Frostkit looked into her mother's eyes. She saw pain, love, heartbreak and . . . fear. Fear. For her. Snowfeather was scared that she would make the mistake of falling for a tom.

"It's okay Mama," she reassured, nuzzling the white queen, "I get it."

"Promise me," she meowed suddenly. The fire in her eyes was so intense, it made Frostkit uncomfortable. "Promise me that you will never fall in love."

Frostkit smiled slightly, forcing a purr. "I promise."

Snowfeather nodded and relaxed, apparently satisfied. Frostkit nodded back, wary of the sudden mood swing that her mother had just had.

"Come now, sleep," Snowfeather told her, gesturing with her tail to the nest. Frostkit nodded again, biting her bottom lip. She carefully made her way over to her place by Snowfeather's side and closed her eyes.

oOo

When Frostkit woke up, her mother was still asleep. Seizing the chance to explore, she quickly untangled her body from Snowfeather's. Frostkit padded over to the edge of the nest to investigate. Experimentally, she reached over with one paw and placed it on the ground. Frostkit frowned at the cold hardness of the floor compared to the warmth and springiness of her nest. _Oh well, I guess I'll have to do this someday,_ she thought. Before she could change her mind about leaving, she made a short leap out of the nest.

 _Where to go now . . . ?_ Frostkit glanced around the nursery, dark green eyes searching for something to do. She just caught sight of a gray tail whisk around the entrance. Frostkit quickly made sure that her mother was still sleeping before scampering outside. The cold chill of leafbare seeped into the orange she-kit's pelt as soon as she left the warmth of the nursery. Frostkit shivered involuntarily as she searched for the two toms.

She found them by a big den on the other side of camp, playing together. They were also with the black she-kit who she had seen the day before.

"You're it!" the she-kit yowled as she tumbled into Smokekit.

"No fair, Nightkit," the gray tom whined. "You crushed me!"

Rainkit sighed. "Toughen up, Smokekit." Just then, the three kits spotted Frostkit. Rainkit's exasperated expression morphed into a cruel smirk. "Hey look! _Frostkit_ has finally been allowed out of the den."

Frostkit felt a rush of rebellion as she corrected, "Actually, I snuck out."

Rainkit raised an eyebrow skeptically. "So Snowfeather _still_ doesn't want you around us."

The orange she-kit shrugged and meowed, "I guess not."

Rainkit sneered, "Well, we don't want you here anyway, weirdo. What kind of mother names an _orange_ she-cat Frostkit? Even her mate left her when he found out about you!"

Frostkit felt tears beginning to threaten to spill out as she stared back at the blue-gray tom in horror. _Snowfeather was right. Toms_ are _monsters._ The orange she-kit spun around and scurried back to the nursery. Before she entered, Frostkit ran into a wall of fur.

"I was wondering where you went," a familar voice purred. Frostkit looked looked up to see Snowfeather, who looked like she had just gotten up. Her eyes were still dull with sleepiness. Frostkit buried her head into her mother's white fur, breathing in her comforting scent.

"You were right Mama," she told her. "I went up to the others and Rainkit was _mean_. He said that I was weird and that he didn't want to be around me."

"Oh, darling," Snowfeather sighed, curling her tail around her daughter. "It's okay. This is why your promise is important. Now you know what I meant, yes?"

Frostkit nodded. She must protect her heart, and trust no-one.

"I understand now."


	3. Chapter two

**Okay, it seems like a lot of people have been looking at this. Some feedback would be nice to know what I need to inprove on, but I'm not too fussed. I've decided to get up a second chapter of both stories, to give a bit more of what it would be about. Overnight, and I'm not kidding, this has somehow gotten three favourites and four follows. Huggles to all you people. I'm going to decide which story to continue in a few days.**

Frostkit yawned and opened her eyes, scanning the nursery. Everyone else was asleep, except for -

"Good morning," Snowfeather murmered drowsily. _Scratch that, Mama's awake._

The orange she-kit bit her lip thoughtfully. What could she do today?

"Mama, where am I allowed to go today?" Frostkit asked, deciding that she would explore the camp a bit.

"Go?" Snowfeather echoed, sounding confused. She yawned and replied casually, "Wherever you want, I guess. The elders can tell you stories, the warriors could tell you a bit about ShadowClan's territory, I don't know. Go think of something."

Frostkit nodded happily and gave her mother a parting nudge before picking her way out of the nest. Outside, the sun had risen, albeit not very far. It was still quite chilly as the orange she-kit started looking around for something interesting. _Warriors leaving on patrol, warriors coming back from patrol, oh look, that cat's orange like me . . . Uh, brown cat walking - wait, is that_ leaves _in his mouth?_

Curiousity ignited, Frostkit scampered over to the strange tom. _Tom. Mousedung,_ she thought, turning to leave. But it was too late. He had already seen her.

"Hello Frostkit," he greeted. The brown tom put down the leaves and offered a small smile. "How's ShadowClan been so far for you?"

Frostkit blinked in surprise. This tom was being nice. Not at all like Rainkit. Still, she eyed him warily.

"Who are you?" she asked cautiously. The brown tom raised an eyebrow, eyes beginning to sparkle with amusement.

"I'm Mudpool," he introduced, "ShadowClan's medicine cat."

Frostkit let down her guard, curiousity taking over. "What does a medicine cat do?"

"I heal cats when they get hurt, and also help queens have their kits," Mudpool explained. _So he can heal hurt cats . . ._

"Mama got hurt," Frostkit remembered. "Can you heal her?"

The brown tom frowned in confusion. "I'm not sure I understand. Was there a thorn in her nest last night?"

"No," the orange she-kit mewed. "She fell in love." Mudpool blinked once, before understanding dawned on his features.

"Oh, you mean what happened with your father? No, I cannot fix a broken heart," he muttered, shaking his head.

Frostkit sighed. _Oh well. If you can't fix it, that's probably why she doesn't want_ my _heart broken._

"Cheer up kit," Mudpool meowed, flicking her with his tail. "Do you want to come inside my den? I could show you some of my herbs."

Frostkit immediately brightened and chirped, "Yes please!" The medicine cat chuckled and picked up his leaves before leading the way inside.

"Woah," Frostkit murmured in awe, taking in all of the differnt leaves and berries around the den. "You can actually use _all_ of these to help cats?"

"Yes," Mudpool meowed, amusement lacing his voice.

"What do they do?" Frostkit asked, bounding over to a pile of red berries.

"They're juniper berries," the medicine cat explained after peering at the berries. "I use them to cure bellyaches."

The orange she-kit nodded and pawed a berry absentmindedly.

"What about those black dot things?" Froskit inquired, sniffing the tiny herbs.

Mudpool glanced at the dots in question before answering, "Those are poppy seeds, and they make cats drowsy so that they can sleep better. It also acts as a painkiller."

 _Painkiller . . . They might help Mama._ Frostkit nodded again and moved onto a different pile of herbs. The more she could learn, the more she could help Snowfeather.

"Teach me more," she pleaded. Mudpool chuckled and nodded.

Frostkit spent the next few hours in the medicine cat den, learning as much as she could about herbs. Mudpool was happy to teach her, and even gave her a small quiz. It was sunhigh by the time Snowfeather got worried and started searching for her kitten.

"Mudpool, have you seen Frostkit?" the white queen asked urgently, sticking her head through the entrance of the den. "She's not in the elder's den, or the warrior's den, or with the other kits, or-"

"Calm down Snowfeather," Mudpool soothed. "She's been with me." Frostkit peered over a pile of dock leaves to see her mother. Snowfeather's normally sleek fur was ruffled and messy, and her deep green eyes were dark and troubled. When she spotted Frostkit, however, her face lit up like the sky at dawn. Snowfeather immediately rushed over to her kit and covered her with licks.

"I was looking all over the camp for you," she scolded lightly, leaning back to survey her work.

Frostkit flicked her ear, mewing grumpily, "You said I could go wherever I wanted."

"Yes, but I was half asleep, dear," Snowfeather sighed. "And you still didn't tell me where you went."

Frostkit wanted to argue that she hadn't told her to tell her where she was going, and that she didn't even know herself, but decided against it. There was no point in wasting her breath. Besides, she was exhausted after learning so much.

"I'm tired," the orange she-kit yawned, snuggling into her mother's white pelt.

"Okay, let's go back to the nursery," Snowfeather meowed, picking up her daughter by the scruff.

Frostkit barely remembered to thank Mudpool for the lesson before falling asleep in Snowfeather's jaws.

oOo

"Look at that, it's _Frostkit_ ," a cat sneered. Frostkit blinked awake and yawned sleepily. Rainkit was sitting at the edge of her nest, glaring at her. Behind him was Smokekit, who kept shifting his paws uncomfortably.

"What about her?" the gray tom-kit mumbled.

Rainkit gave his brother a sharp stare before hissing, "She's weird, and her mother's weird too! If she was anywhere near normal, Snowfeather would have named her Firekit or something. Frostkit is a stupid name." Smokekit's pale blue eyes flickered to Frostkit for a moment, before landing back on his littermate.

"I think her name is pretty," he disagreed quietly.

Rainkit's face twisted out of rage as he spat, "No! _Weirdkit_ is a loner and doesn't deserve any love! Do you want to be like _her_?!" Smokekit's eyed widened in fright and he cringed, shaking his head wildly. The blue-gray tom nodded and padded out of the nursery, tail in the air. Smokekit sent one last apologetic glance at Frostkit before scampering after him.

Frostkit gazed sadly at the point where the gray kit disappeared. _You're alone now . . . No-one will ever love you anyway._ The orange she-kit knew her mother's warning about toms, so why did she feel stung by Rainkit's words? She wasn't supposed to love. _And now it looks like I can't even if I wanted to . . ._ Frostkit fought back tears as she glanced around the nursery.

There was only one other nest in the den, which was Smokekit and Rainkit's. Right now it was occupied by a pale she-cat who she guessed was their mother. Lying horizontally across the queen's stomach was the black she-kit she had seen around a few times. _How much sleep do those two_ need _?_ she wondered.

"Frostkit, are you okay?" Snowfeather asked, padding into the nursery. The white queen looked slightly worried as she curled herself around her kit. "I saw Rainkit and Smokekit just come outside. Smokekit looked guilty about something. Did he do anything?"

Frostkit bit her lip and shook her head. _It was just Rainkit,_ she thought. _I don't think Smokekit actually wanted to be there._ But she didn't say this out loud, not wanting to add to her mother's troubles. _Snowfeather's been hurt already,_ Frostkit thought firmly. _She doesn't need to have to worry about Rainkit too. I can handle him on my own._

"If you say so," Snowfeather sighed, drawing back. Her deep green eyes searched Frostkit's for a moment before she turned and padded back outside.


	4. Chapter three

Frostkit peered curiously over the edge of her nest at the golden tabby she-cat who had just been ushered into the nursery. Her belly was swollen unnaturally, and she was accompanied by a white and gray she-cat who looked to be not much older than Frostkit herself. Another young cat, this one a white tom, was bringing in a pile of moss and other nest materials.

"They'll be here in about a moon and a half, Owlblaze," the white and gray she-cat informed the pregnant tabby.

"Dustlight's so excited," Owlblaze purred, curling a tail around her stomach.

"More kits are always something to get excited about," the young she-cat meowed.

"If you don't mind," the cat with the moss interrupted irritably, "I would like to actually get into the den and get this over with so I can go hunting with Tigerstripe."

The white and gray she-cat flicked his muzzle with her tail, sniffing, "You can go around us, mousebrain."

The young tom scowled, but picked up the moss and trotted around the two she-cats, depositing it in a spare corner of the nursery. He then quickly rushed outside again, muttering something that Frostkit couldn't quite catch.

"Mama, why's that she-cat here?" Frostkit whispered to Snowfeather. "She's really fat."

"She's not fat darling, she's just going to have kits soon," the white queen purred in amusement.

"Did you look like that before I was born?" the orange she-kit asked, screwing up her face in thought. It was hard to imagine her mother with a swollen stomach. Snowfeather nodded.

"I'm sorry about Lightpaw," the white and gray she-cat meowed, rolling her eyes exasperatedly. "He can be really annoying sometimes."

"Who's that she-cat with the orange cat?" Frostkit inquired curiously, tilting her head backwards to see her mother.

"She's Cloudpaw," Snowfeather replied, "the medicine cat apprentice."

"Medicine cat?" Frostkit echoed. "I thought Mudpool was the medicine cat."

"He is," the white queen explained patiently. "But Mudpool is training Cloudpaw so that she can take over when he retires. Now just wait there while I get something to eat."

 _I wonder why I haven't met her before,_ Frostkit thought, eyeing Cloudpaw. The medicine cat apprentice was now scraping the moss together to make another nest. _Even when I spent the whole of yesterday morning in the medicine cat den, she wasn't there. I wonder what she was doing . . ._

 _"_ Yesterday?" Cloudpaw asked, turning to Frostkit. The orange she-kit's eyes widened as she realised that she had thought aloud. Hesitantly she nodded. "I was out getting more catmint, because of the upcoming leafbare." _That makes sense._

Frostkit nodded in understanding and meowed, "Catmint is used to cure greencough, and leaf-bare is the time when cats get greencough, right?" Cloudpaw blinked in surprise, pausing in her nest-making.

"Yeah. How did you know that?" she asked curiously.

"Mudpool taught me," Frostkit answered, feeling proud of her new knowledge.

"Huh," Cloudpaw meowed, eyeing the orange kit. "I guess it's always good to have other cats who know about herbs in case of emergency."

"I guess," Frostkit agreed half-heartedly. _She seems kinda upset. Was it something I said?_

An awkward silence descended upon the nursery, with both she-cats lost for something to say. Frostkit almost yowled in relief when Snowfeather came back in with a plump pidgeon. The white queen trotted over to her nest and started plucking out the feathers. Cloudpaw watched her in silence for a moment before turning to leave.

"Here," Snowfeather meowed, pushing the featherless bird over to Frostkit. "Wanna try it?" Frostkit shook her head, drawing back. _Not yet._

 _"_ What should we do with the feathers?" Frostkit asked instead.

Snowfeather thought for a moment before shrugging, "We ususally bury them or line nests with them." _That sounds nice and soft._ Frostkit suddenly realised that Cloudpaw had left without finishing Owlblaze's nest.

"Mama, Owlblaze's nest isn't finished," Frostkit mewed. "Can I do it for her and put some feathers in it?"

Snowfeather purred, "Of course. I'm sure that she'll appreciate it." Frostkit's eyes lit up and she started gathering the feathers. Snowfeather watched her work as she ate the bird.

"They're so soft!" she squealed, poking one of the feathers before putting it in the pile. Frostkit then managed to pick up most of the feathers in her jaws and carry them over to the unfinished nest. She went back to collect the last few before setting to work shaping the moss into a nest-like shape, using her own nest as a guide. When she had finished with the actual nest, she placed the feathers around the edge.

Nest complete, Frostkit stood back to let Snowfeather look at her work. The white queen licked her kit's ear proudly and purred, "Good job! Owlblaze will love it."

Frostkit surveyed the nest happily, satisfied with what she had accomplished. The nest was a bit too thick on one side, and the feathers were a bit crooked in places, but other than that it was pretty good, in her opinion.

Just then, Owlblaze herself entered the nursery with a light brown tom close behind her. She padded over to her newly made nest and circled it a few times before settling down.

"Hello Frostkit," Owlblaze greeted. She turned to the brown tom. "I don't believe Dustlight or I have had the chance to properly talk to you yet. How are you today?"

Frostkit's jaws clamped shut and she scurried to hide behind Snowfeather.

The white queen chuckled to her kit, "Shy now, are you?" Frostkit stil refused to talk, so Owlblaze turned her attention to Snowfeather.

"How have you been lately?" she asked pleasantly.

"Good," Snowfeather replied, nodding her head.

Owlblaze's eyes suddenly lit up excitedly as she said in a hushed voice, "Did you know that Sandstar has a mate now?"

"No," Snowfeather meowed in surprise. "Who is it?"

"That's the thing, we don't know!" the pregnant queen exclaimed. "I think that it might be . . ." Frostkit sighed to herself and tuned out the gossip. There was nothing to do now. She glanced at Palefur's nest hopefully, but not even the queen herself was sleeping there. She was probably outside . . .

Frostkit looked up at her mother and asked quietly to explore the camp. Snowfeather nodded distractedly and continued her conversation, so the orange kit took the chance to leave the nursery. Once outside, Frostkit scanned the clearing for something to do. _Let's visit someone . . . The warrior's den could be interesting. Couldn't hurt to befriend a cat who may be my future mentor._

The orange she-kit set off in a trot for the warrior's den, striding across the camp purposefully. When she got about a fox-length away from the entrance, she heard someone speaking inside. What she heard made her falter.

"-and I hate it when Palefur and Nightkit just spend the entire day sleeping! She-cats are so stupid!" a familiar voice hissed. _Rainkit._

"Well, you'll be an apprentice in five moons," a deeper-voiced tom pointed out.

"But _Dad,_ " Rainkit whined, "I don't want to deal with not being able to do anything for that long!"

The cat who was apparently Rainkit's father meowed, "What about that new she-kit? Coldkit, or something?" Frostkit silently fumed at the tom. Her name wasn't Coldkit. _Stupid tom._

" _Frost_ kit," Rainkit corrected. "She's even worse! I've only seen her outside, like, twice, and the first time she was in the medicine cat den for the whole morning. The second time she went running back inside crying because I told her that her name didn't fit her pelt. What a crybaby!" At this point, Frostkit wanted to barge in there and claw his ears off. His words were much harsher than that, and she was learning herbs that morning, not getting healed!

"Shame," Rainkit's father sighed. "Is she at least pretty like her mother?"

"I suppose," the blue-gray tom-kit said hesitantly. "Smokekit is always talking about her though, never stopping about how she is so-" Frostkit stormed away, not wanting to hear what he had said. _I bet he was telling you that he thought I was weak as well!_ she thought angrily. The orange she-kit stomped behind the nursery and curled up into a ball, glaring at the thorny wall of the den. _Stupid Rainkit. Stupid father. Why does he get a father who can listen to him? Why doesn't my father care about me? Toms are so stupid. They don't care._

 _Well, you know what? I don't care either._


	5. Chapter four

"Hey."

Frostkit glanced up to see a familiar gray tom-kit standing in front of her.

"Go away," she growled, burrowing her muzzle into her paws. When she didn't hear him leave, Frostkit lifted her head again and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Snowfeather's looking for you," Smokekit mewed softly, ducking his head slightly.

"And she can keep looking," Frostkit retorted. A stray leaf suddenly caught her attention, and she started slowly slicing it into strips. Smokekit eyed her nervously and scuffed his paws in the dirt.

"What are you doing?" he asked timidly. Frostkit felt a surge of frustration as she looked back up at the gray tom-kit. _Why doesn't he just mind his own business?_

"I could ask you the same question," Frostkit replied smoothly. "Why do you care if Snowfeather's looking for me?"

Smokekit shrugged half-heartedly and mewed, "I was just trying to help." _I don't need help from anyone, let alone_ you _._

"Then go away," Frostkit sighed, putting down the leaf. "I just want to be alone," she murmured miserably.

"What is going on here?" Snowfeather shrieked, appearing from around the corner.

"I-I was just-" Smokekit stammered, cringing in fear.

"Just leaving, I hope!" the white queen interrupted.

"Y-yes," Smokekit squeaked, slinking away slowly with his head held low. As he left, he looked over his shoulder a few times, before ducking his head again to avoid Snowfeather's cold glare.

As soon as Smokekit was out of sight, Snowfeather visibly relaxed and licked her chest fur a few times. Frostkit observed her in silence for a few moments, suddenly curious about how she had gotten Smokekit to leave so quickly. She was just about to open her jaws and ask when Snowfeather spoke.

"Frostkit," she started sternly, "I don't want to see you near him again. Not him, or any other tom. They're just trouble. Understand?"

Frostkit sighed and nodded. All of sudden, she remembered Mudpool. "But what about the medicine cat?" she asked.

Snowfeather narrowed her eyes. "What about him?"

"Well, uh," Frostkit mewed uncertainly, "he taught me stuff, and I kinda like him. It's not like he's my age or anything."

"We already have a medicine cat apprentice," Snowfeather pointed out.

"But I still want to learn from him," Frostkit pleaded. _Mudpool's really nice_ , she silently added. Her heart sped up hopefully as she saw her mother's thoughtful expression. _Please say yes-_

 _"_ No."

"What?" Frostkit exclaimed indignantly. "Why not?"

"He's still a tom, and I don't see why you need to be hanging around one when there really is no point in having to trust him to look after you," Snowfeather explained, flicking her tail agitatedly.

"But-"

"But nothing," Snowfeather interrupted, eyes flashing dangerously. Frostkit bit her lip to stop herself from arguing further and turned her head away. "Don't try and talk to any tom, because I will find out."

"What if they talk to me?" Frostkit asked slyly, thinking that she'd got her mother cornered. "I can't just stay mute around them."

Snowfeather answered, "Then make sure they go away. If you keep giving them the message that you aren't going to talk to them, they'll stop bothering you."

"How do I do that?" Frostkit mewed curiously. _This might help me get rid of Rainkit . . ._

 _"_ Well, the first way you can do this is by changing the way you walk and look to others," Snowfeather started. _Is this going to be an actual lesson on how to look scary?_ the orange she-kit thought, slightly amused. _Oh well. If it makes Mama happy, I'll do it._ "Number one, get rid of the 'happy' walk and replace it with the 'don't talk to me' walk. Shoulders square, chin up, striding _gracefully_."

Snowfeather demonstrated this 'don't talk to me' walk for Frostkit, and the orange kit was amazed by how much more intimidating she suddenly looked.

"You try," Snowfeather intstructed.

Frostkit hesitantly inclined her head and hunched her shoulders. She started to pad towards her mother, but Snowfeather just sighed.

"That's . . . not quite it." She moved towards her daughter and used a paw to push her shoulders backwards. Frostkit found that that made her feel a lot taller, and she probably looked taller as well. "Okay, now wipe your face of all emotion," the white queen ordered.

Frostkit obeyed, trying to relax her facial features as much as possible. She set her mouth in a firm line, only to break into a smile as Snowfeather nodded approvingly.

"Uh, sorry," she mewed sheepishly, making her expression blank once more.

"Try it all together," Snowfeather suggested, gesturing with a paw.

Frostkit nodded and focused on what her mother had told her. _Shoulders square, but back a bit, chin up, blank face, deliberate steps._ Experimentally, the orange she-kit tried walking a fox-length. She focused on the air in front of her muzzle and didn't let her eyes wander.

"Good!" she heard Snowfeather praise.

Trying to keep with what she had been doing, Frostkit gave a small nod of acknowledgement and sat in front of the white queen, neatly wrapping her paws around her tail. Snowfeather beamed happily, making Frostkit feel a surge of accomplishment and warmth.

"Just stay like that and you'll be fine," Snowfeather assured. "Now let's go back to the nursery." With that, she started walking around the corner of the den, so Frostkit shrugged to herself and followed. Once she was inside the nursery, the orange she-kit glanced around to see who was inside. Palefur, of course, was in her nest, along with Nightkit. Surprisingly, the black she-kit was awake.

 _Well, at least she isn't a tom,_ Frostkit thought. _Maybe I can go and talk to her._ Aware of her mother's eyes boring into her back, Frostkit mimicked Snowfeather's walk from a few moments before as she approached the she-kit.

"Hello Nightkit," the orange she-kit greeted levelly, sitting down neatly in front of her Clanmate's nest.

"Hey," Nightkit replied, inclining her head as she did so. The black she-kit was still lying down, her paws dangling over the side of her nest. She seemed tired, although Frostkit had no idea why when all she did was sleep all day. Seeing her eyes wander, Nightkit added, "Don't worry about waking Palefur up. She sleeps like a rock."

Frostkit nodded absently, not sure what to say next. Luckily, her companion didn't seem to mind as she continued on.

"We all do, really, although Rainkit and Smokekit are able to wake up in the morning. Okay, well, I do too, but I kinda just think to myself 'if when I'm an apprentice I'm going to have to train all of the time, then I might as well get some sleep now' and go back to sleep. There's really no point in going outside if I don't have to, and everyone just thinks that we get under their paws anyway. You know what I mean?" Nightkit asked vaguely.

Frostkit blinked confusedly, before answering, "No, not really." Nightkit nodded slowly, unfazed by her honesty. She started talking about something else, but Frostkit was only half-listening. Her constant chatter was relaxing, in a way, and let Frostkit distract herself until her mother fell asleep. Despite what the white queen had said, Frostkit still wanted to learn from Mudpool. She waited patiently for a while longer, listening to Nightkit ramble. After looking over should once more, the orange she-kit was glad to see that Snowfeather's eyes were closed and her breathing was steady.

"Hey Nightkit, can you do me a quick favour?" Frostkit asked, interrupting something about 'honestly, he just needs to chill and stop worrying about others' opinions so much'.

Nightkit nodded, ears pricked.

"I need to go somewhere, but I can't let Snowfeather know," Frostkit started, the plan that had been stirring in her mind finally coming together in words. "Can you keep talking as if I were still here? And when she wakes up, stop talking. She'll get worried about where I am, so tell her that I went to the dirtplace but that you'll go and get me. I'll be in the medicine cat den, but I don't want her to know that. So you come and get me, and then we go back to the nursery. Got that?"

Nightkit nodded again, mewing, "Talk until your old cat wakes up, then don't talk. Offer to go find you, say that you were at the dirtplace, get you from the med cat. Got it."

Frostkit sighed in relief, trotting to the nursery entrance. "Thank you," she threw over her shoulder, nodding when she saw Nightkit wave in reply. With one last glance to make sure that her mother was asleep, she set off towards the medicine cat den.

 _I'll help you Mama, just hang on._


	6. Chapter five

**Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! It really does motivate me to keep writing this :) Sorry also for the late update, I realised too late that it is, once again, coming up to exam time. Therefore, I probably won't be able to update again until the end of the year-ish.**

 **Shadowedskies of LightningClan: Yeah, it will seem like that at first. But I assure you that the only real jerky toms in the Clan are Rainpaw and Duskclaw. The rest are fairly normal, although Frostkit might not see it at first.**

 **Stormshadow3 (second review): Well, this is a romance story, after all!**

 **Snowcrystal of ThunderClan: Thanks for your reviews! I think you might have meant Smoke x Frost?**

 ** _\- Six moons later -_**

"Look at who finally decided to join the big cats," a familiar voice sneered.

Frostpaw's eyes snapped up to glare at the cat who had walked in, as she held back a low growl. The blue-gray tom's face was twisted into one of mocking disgust, an expression which the orange apprentice was well used to seeing.

"I was tempted to stay in the nursery," Frostpaw replied, tone deadpan. "The kits' nonsense is more tolerable than your idiocy."

". . . And with her fancy words to hide behind to boot!" Rainpaw added, snickering slightly.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Frostpaw countered, not sounding apologetic at all, "is the word 'idiocy' to hard for you to understand? I'll dumb it down for you - you're an insufferable mouse-brain."

Rainpaw scowled at her, huffing loudly before stalking past her to his nest. The orange apprentice felt a surge of pride at his frustration. _Take that, fox-heart._ Her satisfaction dissipated, however, when another cat walked into the den.

"Hey Smokepaw, look at this!" Rainpaw called to the new arrival, gesturing to Frostpaw with his tail. "Frostkit seems to have gotten lost and found herself in the apprentices' den. Isn't that hilarious?"

Smokepaw, who had shuffled in with a blank expression on his face, suddenly started blinking wildly, raising his head to stare at both Rainpaw and herself. His eyes flooded with wariness as he surveyed the two, something which surprised Frostpaw. Smokepaw was rather peculiar, in her opinion. He had never really joined in with Rainpaw's incessant jeering, but he didn't seem to have the confidence to stop it either. He just watched, something which irritated Frostpaw. Her mother had always told her that the gray tom did that because he didn't care about her wellbeing (yet another one of the things that show that all toms are horrible, that she'll get hurt if she befriends one, and that she should keep to herself. Honestly, sometimes it seemed like Snowfeather never talked about anything else), and she suspected that the white queen was right.

"Uh, yeah, hilarious," Smokepaw finally muttered, hanging his head again and trudging over to his nest.

Rainpaw seemed satisfied with that answer, turning to direct a victorious smirk at Frostpaw. Unimpressed, she rolled her eyes at him exasperatedly. _He's such an idiot._

"What's wrong, Smokepaw?" a voice asked blearily, drifting out from a particularly dark corner of the den. "Training not go so well?"

 _Nightpaw._ Now she was . . . confusing. The black she-cat hadn't really changed much since they were kits; sleeping every chance she got, never really seeming to be fully awake. Despite this, however, Frostpaw was unnerved by how much she knew. During their infrequent talks, Nightpaw mentioned things about cats that she couldn't possibly have been told. For example, the orange apprentice remembered the time when Nightpaw had casually named Sandstar as the father of the Clan's latest additions. When asked how she knew, she had replied that it was obvious through watching both the kits' behaviour and their mother's interactions with ShadowClan's leader. Before then, Frostpaw had written the black apprentice off as harmlessly apathetic, but now she wasn't quite sure.

"Yeah," Smokepaw sighed, flopping down into his nest. "I kind of feel bad for Redpool. I mean, I couldn't even get the mouse that be practically placed in my paws!"

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Nightpaw scolded lightly, amber eyes flashing in the darkness. "You just need some more practice." Suddenly, she shook her head, a smile returning to grace her muzzle. "But enough about that. You should have seen Dapplefrost this morning! We were supposed to be on the dawn patrol, but she didn't tell me." A pause. "Or maybe she did, I can't remember. Anyway, I slept in, and she was waiting out there the whole time for me to come out. As the patrol was about to leave, she finally decided to come and find me. StarClan, was she _embarrassed_. Served her right, in a way. For once, she was the one who was made to look mouse-brained."

Nightpaw continued talking about her mentor, but Frostpaw just stared at her curiously. Smokepaw seemed to relax slightly as he listened to his sister, as did Rainpaw. The black she-cat had that sort of effect on cats, Frostpaw supposed. Suddenly, a grey tabby head popped into the den. _Duskclaw._ Rainpaw became immediately animated, greeting the tom politely.

Duskclaw broke into a purr, echoing the greeting and flicking his tail over the gray apprentice's ears. His son's ears. Frostpaw knew that the pair would have ordinarily started a conversation, but the warrior turned to her instead.

"We're going out for a hunting lesson," he told her, gesturing for her to follow him out of the den. Frostpaw did so only because of the fact that this tom was her new mentor. Having heard what Rainpaw had been telling him about her, she knew Duskclaw thought that she was weak and incompetent. Now that she had the chance, she was determined to prove him wrong.

Initially, Snowfeather had been furious that a tom had been assigned to be her mentor. Sandstar had argued that there were no other she-cats in the Clan that would be able to push Frostpaw as much as Duskclaw. The grey tabby was a respected warrior in the Clan, and for good reason.

That didn't make Frostpaw any happier about the situation.

The orange apprentice was suddenly jolted out of her thoughts as she ran into something. Someone, more like. Embarassedly, she took a few steps back as Duskclaw turned around, unimpressed.

"I hope you're more alert when it comes time for you to catch prey," he remarked, one ear twitching.

Frostpaw muttered a quick apology, before looking around at the needle-littered clearing that the two had found themselves in. All around them, tall pine trees stood to attention, swaying slightly as a light breeze brushed past them. Although it was hard for the orange apprentice to imagine, according to what she had heard this forest was not nearly as dense as ThunderClan's.

"Over there," a sharp voice suddenly hissed.

Frostpaw's head shot up, her brain working to process what her mentor had just said. All she could managed was a small "Huh?" before Duskclaw flicked his tail over her muzzle.

"Lizard," he whispered, eyes flashing disapprovingly. Frostpaw scanned the surrounding forest for a few moments before she spotted the aforementioned lizard sunning itself on a small rock. It took her a few moments to realise what Duskclaw wanted her to do. _I don't even know the hunter's crouch yet, let alone how to catch something!_ Looking up at the grey tom uncertainly, she saw that her mentor was completely serious.

Steeling herself, Frostpaw dropped into something reminiscent of the hunter's crouch that she had seen other apprentices show off. She started to slink toward the lizard, circling around first to find better cover. For the first time in her life, she became acutely aware of her brightly coloured pelt. Determined to catch this lizard nonetheless, Frostpaw sprung out from the bush she was hiding behind, claws outstretched. To her dismay, she fell about a tail-length short and the lizard sprinted away in the opposite direction. _What did he expect?_ she thought irritatedly, disappointment quickly turning to anger. _He better not try and give me any sort of lecture for that._

Suddenly, Duskclaw appeared from the direction that the lizard had escaped to. The said lizard was now hanging, dead, in his mouth. Putting down the prey, the grey tom then approached her.

"That wasn't too bad."

Surprised, Frostpaw's head snapped up and she studied her mentor curiously.

"You tried to give yourself cover, which worked reasonably well despite your pelt colour, and despite the fact that your crouch was pathetic . . . " he drawled, "it's not the worst I've seen. And the prey was caught in the end, which is really all that matters."

Unsure whether to take his feeback as a compliment or an insult, Frostpaw gave a small nod and sat down, curling her tail over her paws.

"Try dropping into the hunter's crouch," Duskclaw prompted, sitting down himself.

Frostpaw did so, albiet unsurely.

"We're not trying to swat bugs here."

Peering up at her mentor confusedly, she suddenly became aware that her tail was twitching. Determinedly, she stilled it.

"Try folding your ears down, they stick up like a rabbit's."

Narrowing her eyes in annoyance slightly, Frostpaw flattened her ears to her head.

"You can crouch lower than that."

 _Oh for StarClan's sake._


	7. Chapter six

**Hello, everyone! I'm sorry that I wasn't able to start writing again sooner, I was** ** _not_** **prepared for the amount of homework that came with this new year. Still aren't. Am't. Mmmm.**

 **Thanks so much to everyone who has been reviewing, following and favouriting! I hope this story will be worth you putting up with me as an author :)**

Frostpaw padded through the camp entrance, frustration rippling like waves from her pelt. It was nearly sundown, and she had only managed to catch one other piece of prey apart from the lizard.

And technically, she didn't even catch the lizard. As the orange apprentice was silently sulking, she suddenly stopped as a badly-disguised snort sounded from behind her. Instantly, her frustration turned into a simmering rage, and she turned around reluctantly to see Rainpaw's mocking grin.

Expecting some kind of smart remark, Frostpaw watched on irritatedly for a few heartbeats as his expression didn't change. Finally, she broke the silence.

"What are you looking at?" she snapped, glaring at the smug tom.

"Oh, nothing," Rainpaw answered dismissively, letting his features fall for a moment. "Well, your fresh-kill," he corrected himself. The grin returned. "They're both the same anyway."

Frostpaw felt her fur bristle at that, and embarrassment surged through her anger.

"It was my first lesson!" she said defensively.

"On my first lesson I caught way more than that!" Rainpaw countered haughtily. "Ask my mentor."

"Yeah right," Frostpaw snarled, although she didn't have much doubt that the irritating tom wasn't lying. Searching for a good comeback - and finding none - she finally decided to leave with a flippant 'I have better things to do than talk to you', stalking away with her head high.

Not the most mature insult, but Frostpaw was so overwhelmed with animosity that she couldn't have cared less about what she sounded like. She stopped dead in her tracks, however, when she heard one last snide remark from the cat behind her.

" _And your father had better things to do than raise you_."

Letting out an outraged yowl, Frostpaw whirled around and leapt at Rainpaw, batting wildy at his muzzle without thinking. Seeing red droplets forming on his blue fur, she realised that her claws were unsheathed, and she quickly sheathed them again. In her small moment of guilt, Rainpaw took the opportuntiy to hit back, and the force of his paw slamming painfully against her head was enough to send her flying sideways. A sharp, stabbing pain on her cheek let her know that he had also used his claws out of retaliation.

As a stormy Rainpaw approached her once again, Frostpaw was hit with the sudden difference in size between the two of them. While Rainpaw was both older and bulkier (with some battle training as well), Frostpaw was still small and slender. Regret and apprehension replaced her furious anger, and the orange apprentice dragged herself up to a sitting position, screwing her eyes shut while she braced herself for another blow.

Which didn't come. Instead, indignant yowling was heard and Frostpaw opened her eyes to see a bright ginger tom dragging Rainpaw away by the scruff. She vaugely remembered seeing the tom a few times with Smokepaw, and her mind connected the cat in front of her with the name Redpool. Apart from the fact that he was Smokepaw's mentor, and a warrior of ShadowClan, she didn't know much about him.

With Rainpaw now sat next to him, head low, Redpool leaned down to hiss something in the apprentice's ear. Straightening up, he then addressed the both of them:

"What do you think you were doing?" the ginger warrior demanded, amber eyes narrowing fiercely. After no answer was offered, he let out a low growl. "This is not how a ShadowClan apprentice behaves!"

"He started it," Frostpaw mumbled, more to herself than to anyone else.

"You were the one who attacked me!" Rainpaw retorted.

"You told me-!" the orange apprentice started indignantly, but she was cut off by the warrior in front of her.

"It doesn't matter who did what, Clanmates do not attack each other!" Redpool scolded. Suddenly, his eyes focused on something in the near distance, and his stern demeanour was replaced for a moment with a strangely unreadable look. A heartbeat later, however, the fire in his eyes returned, and he turned back to the apprentices. Just as he was about to open his mouth, a loud yowl sounded from behind Frostpaw.

"What happened to my kit?" A furious undertone was clearly evident in the voice.

Frostpaw turned around to see a bristling Snowfeather, and hoped that she wouldn't make a scene. A few cats were already watching them, most with disapproving looks etched into their faces. The orange apprentice assumed that they were present due to her scuffle with Rainpaw.

"She's bleeding!" Snowfeather gasped, horrified, as she rushed over to Frostpaw and covered her in protective licks. Turning a fierce glare over to Rainpaw, she threatened, "I'm going to talk to Sandstar about this, and you'll be cleaning the elders' den for the next moon!"

"Why?" Rainpaw threw back defiantly. "Because your precious little kit couldn't handle a bit of truth and attacked me?"

"I'm not precious!" Frostpaw cut in indignantly, straining her neck to lean away from her mother.

Rainpaw opened his mouth to say something more, but then Redpool was dragging him towards the leader's den, and Snowfeather was carrying her towards the medicine cat's den. Frostpaw was almost certain that the sulky look on the blue apprentice's face mirrored her own expression. As she entered the medicine cat den, the familiar scent of herbs started to calm her down.

Mudpool was inside, back turned to the entrance, already working on a mixture of goldenrod and marigold. Cloudpaw was nowhere to be seen, although she was nearly ready for her full name.

"First day of apprenticeship, and you've already gotten into a fight," Mudpool tutted, hobbling around with the poltiuce on one pad.

"Rainpaw's a jerk," Frostpaw hissed, resisting the urge to pout.

Letting out a chuckle, the medicine cat wiped the herbs onto a leaf, which he slid over to his patient.

Frostpaw applied the poltiuce to her wounds almost autonomously, muttering a small 'thanks' as Mudpool covered her work with cobwebs. A comfortable silence had settled upon the den by the time they were finished.

"Who is my father?" she blurted out suddenly. The orange apprentice looked up pleadingly as the thought gnawed at her heart again.

Mudpool glanced up and flicked his ears in surprise, a careful expression on his face. He didn't reply for a moment, and seemed to be considering his words thoroughly.

"Someone who made a mistake," he eventually answered.

"What?" Frostpaw asked, annoyed. _Talk about cryptic_ , she thought.

"He was young," Mudpool added, as if that was supposed to explain something. "He didn't know what to do."

"Well how about sticking around?" the apprentice snapped. Immediately, regret swamped her, and she apologised. "It's just . . . " she trailed off frustratedly, "He didn't have to leave the Clan, even if he didn't want a kit. It wouldn't have taken much for him to be a father." Scuffing the ground with her paws, she was surprised to hear Mudpool's next words.

"Who gave you the idea that he left the Clan?"

"N-no one," Frostpaw stammered, taken aback. "I just, assumed, since . . . well, if he was still here, wouldn't I have been able to tell? Snowfeather hates him."

"Snowfeather pretends that he doesn't exist," Mudpool corrected, a small wry smile on his muzzle.

"And you know who he is?" Frostpaw demanded, heart beating faster.

"I do."


End file.
